Of Stags and Does
by MsMacBeth10
Summary: Lily is having trouble producing a Patronus, so she turns to the Head Boy for help...one-shot.


"Potter."

"Evans."

At the present moment, the Head Boy and Girl were glaring at each other in the Heads' dormitory. Well, Lily herself was doing most of the glaring, while Potter was simply staring back at her.

Lily had to admit that Potter had changed over the summer, and whether it was for the best or worst, she had yet to decide. But it was this change which enabled her to actually _ask _him about the current matter at hand—had it been a previous year, she would have dismissed the thought at once and hexed him in her mind.

"Look, here's the problem," said Lily, wondering whether she made the right decision or not. This battle continued on in her head, resulting in the silence that now occupied the room.

"If you say what the problem is, I might be able to help," Potter pointed out, when he noticed that she had not spoken for quite a while after mentioning that there was a problem.

Lily took a deep breath. She didn't know why it felt so much like confessing, but something about them standing there together caused strange sensations in her stomach. She wished they could go away. "You…see, we've been learning about the Patronus, right?"

More silence. "Go on," James prompted.

"But…" she fiddled with a strand of her hair, which James found quite distracting. He wished she could stop distracting him like so. "You're…I…" _Come on, Lily! It's not that hard, is it? S_he scolded herself for being so nervous. It wasn't like her to act this way, not at all.

James was genuinely interested now. She couldn't be confessing to him, could she? Nah, that would be too good to be true, unless, of course, he was dreaming. Even _then _it would still be too good to be true.

"Can…Canyouteachme?" Lily blurted all this out so fast that James thought, for a moment, that she was indeed asking whether they could go to Hogsmeade together.

"Sorry?" James said, desperately wanting a clarification. If she was asking what he was thinking…_No, that's _way_ too good to be true, period_.

"I mean," she gulped, "Can you teach me the Patronus charm? You…you're better than me at Defense Against the Dark Arts, and…and…I've been…"

She grew silent again, for she hated to admit that Potter was better in DADA than she was. James simply nodded, wanting to spare her from the embarrassment. "If that is what you wish, then I will gladly comply," said James solemnly, and gently took her hand and placed a kiss upon it.

Lily's cheeks immediately reddened, and she felt her heart stutter. She had no idea why this simple motion had caused her so much...excitement, and when James pulled away, he saw that he wasn't about to get hexed, as he had feared. Which, of course, was a definite improvement.

"Come on," said James, and he began exiting the Head dormitory.

Lily remained behind, being still quite stunned. Potter was behaving rather gentlemanly, and this was something she had trouble registering. "Where are you going?" she asked, almost hesitantly. Was he up to something no good again? All good things come to an end, right?

James flashed her a smile so charming she was sure that every member of the James Potter Fan Club would be squealing with zealousness had they witnessed such an extraordinary thing. She felt satisfied that this smile was only for her..._No, Lily, what are you thinking? You don't like Potter, remember? _

"Let's find an empty classroom," James clarified. "We should start now, so you won't fall that behind, right?"

"Don't...don't you have something planned already for now?" Lily asked, "something like...Quidditch practice?"

"Oh, but I am willing to put you before anything else, my dear sweet Lily-flower," answered James, smirking slightly at the sight of her flushed cheeks.

With a quick shake of her head, Lily mumbled, "Well, let's not waste any more time here."

The Heads left their dormitory together; James in the front and Lily trailing behind. She hoped he wasn't in the mood for pranks, in case he led her right to Mrs. Norris or to the caretaker himself. Instead, James moved at a rather fast pace, and in no time he began ascending the magically moving stairs, and Lily found herself struggling to keep up.

Damn his athletic build. Speaking of bodies...Lily caught herself daydreaming about what Potter would like with his shirt off, and she quickly snapped out of it. Bloody teenage hormones, she cursed mentally.

"Here we are," declared James, and he stopped so suddenly Lily nearly walked right into him. He was standing in front of a pair of double doors which she had never seen before. "May I introduce you! Evans, Room of Requirement. Room of Requirement, Evans."

Lily found this to be a peculiar way of introduction, and she had to fight back the laughter that was slowly building up from inside her. "What is this place, Potter?"

"Ah, the wonderful Room of Requirement, which satisfies your every need!"

"I thought you meant to take me to an empty classroom?" she questioned, letting her emerald eyes meet his hazel ones. That was a mistake, she later discovered, because she couldn't bare to look away from his mesmerizing eyes.

Bloody Potter.

"I figured this would be more appropriate," James answered with a grin, and dramatically pushed the doors open. "After you, fair lady."

Cautiously, Lily stepped into the room and wondered why she had never come across it before. Inside was rather misty, and quite warm for a room. It was, in short, a romantic atmosphere, and it was definitely _not_ an appropriate place for someone who wanted to learn the Patronus charm. "What is the meaning of this, Potter?" Lily demanded suspiciously, half-expecting him to have planned this ahead of time.

But how could he have known she would ask him to teach her? Unless he was a Seer, which was highly unlikely (he had dropped Divination faster than one could say "mouse").

"The Room complies to your innermost desires," James said, almost as startled as Lily herself when he saw what the environment inside the room was like. "And I am pretty sure my mind had been as blank as I could make it, so you would be the one to have your desires satisfied..."

Lily's eyes stretched wide. No, it couldn't be her doing! There was no way she would want to spend time with Potter in an environment like this! It was ridiculous! Potter must be the one to pick it, and he was lying to her!

But at one glance at him, Lily decided that there was no way he was lying to her now.

James stared at the Room with silent appreciation, and mumbled quietly half to himself, "This place has incredible magic. So incredible, that it wouldn't even show up on the Marauders' Map no matter what we tried..."

"_You _created that bloody map?" Lily asked with grudging respect. She had seen the boys with it before, but they hadn't bothered telling her where they had gotten such a vile thing.

"Language, Flower," James said, and at her glare, added, "With the help of Wormtail, Padfoot, and Moony, of course..."

A few painful moments passed, and when he saw that she was waiting for him to begin, he cleared his throat and said loudly, "The Patronus charm. Right. So, Miss Evans, would you care to tell me what its purpose is?"

His tone had changed, and Lily admired the firmness of his voice and how certain he sounded. "To defend oneself against Dementors," she answered promptly, recalling the definition she had read in the textbook.

"Right you are! Ten points to Gryffindor!" James beamed.

"Can you do that? Add points?" Lily asked, but he merely shrugged.

"It's funner this way, isn't it?"

She nodded, deciding that this could actually be enjoyable. "I suppose..."

James clapped his hands. "And what do Dementors do?"

Lily shuddered as she remembered what they had learned in class. "They take away your soul," she whispered. "All of your happiness...gone..."

James felt pained to see her like this. He had a sudden urge to protect her from any dark forces that tried to take her away. He wouldn't let anything harm her. "Yes, and so we don't want that to happen, do we? That's where the Patronus charm comes into play," he said professionally.

She blinked at him as he swept on, "In order to successfully produce a Patronus, you must think of the happiest memory you can. Once you can visibly picture the memory in your mind, that's when you say the spell: _Expecto Patronum_."

"_Expecto Patronum_," Lily repeated after him.

"Now, this is how it goes. Watch and learn, Evans..." James pulled out his wand, and remembered the time when the Marauders had finally mastered their Animagi forms. He took a deep breath before announcing, "_Expecto Patronum_!"

Lily watched with amazement as the silvery stag burst out from the tip of his wand and galloped majestically across the room. None of the others in their DADA class had gotten to this stage; the best anyone could do was form a silvery orb.

It wasn't long before the stag vanished. "Now, you try," James told her.

Thinking of the day Dumbledore came to their house and told them that she was actually a witch, Lily cried, "_Expecto Patronum_!"

A tiny whips erupted from her wand. "It's not enough!" she growled in frustration.

James placed a hand comfortingly on top of hers. "Your happiest memory," he reminded her. "It has to be the happiest. Otherwise it won't work. Now, I know you're the smartest witch in our year, Lily Evans, so I'm sure you can do it if you set your heart on it..."

Lily closed her eyes and thought. What was her happiest memory? The days she spent with Sev during their childhood? When she received her Head Girl letter? When she became friends with Mary and Emmeline?

...When she argued with Potter? That can _not _be the happiest memories she possessed! There's ought to be something better! She would be quite pathetic if she found happiness in arguing with that git.

He wasn't a git anymore, though...

What about the time Potter defended her when Sev, no, Snape had called her a Mudblood?

_"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!" _

_Lily blinked._

_"Fine," she said coolly. "I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus."_

_"Apologise to Evans!" James had roared at Snape..._

Well, it was worth a try. She didn't know why a memory like _that _would make her happy, but... "_Expecto Patronum_!" she yelled, with more force this time.

She couldn't help letting out a small gasp when the doe appeared in front of her.

"I knew you could do it!" James whooped in celebration.

She didn't know why what happened next happened. Perhaps it was a spur of the moment thing, or perhaps she really was pathetic, or perhaps she was going crazy, but in her happiness she grabbed James around his neck and pulled him against her, leading to their lips touching.

Almost as soon as it happened, she jerked away. James stared at her, dumbfounded. "Did...did you see that?" she asked, gesturing to her doe, hoping to change the subject.

"I-Indeed I did," James stammered. He might as well have lost his mind. Lily Evans had just _kissed. Him. _Him, James Potter, who she hated with every inch of her being.

She avoided the earlier interaction when a startling detail dawned upon her. "Hold on, Potter, isn't your Patronus a stag?"

"Yes, why?"

"...and mine's a doe...? THIS IS YOUR DOING, ISN'T IT? Oh, bugger, why did I ask you to teach me? It must be because you taught me my Patronus ended up in the same form as yours!" She yelled, her cheeks growing redder and redder by the word. "This is embarrassing! What will everyone say if they notice that ours are the same animal? What will I do? I should just jump off the Astronomy tower now, or Merlin help me—"

This time, the kiss was most definitely _not _a spur of the moment thing, because James found her rambling and flustered face quite endearing, and couldn't stop himself from stopping her speech.

A few more snogs and hugs later, the Head Boy and Girl snuggled against each other on the love seat, which Lily had failed to notice when they first entered the room. "You're not so bad anymore, James," Lily admitted. "...James..."

"People change, you know," James said, who still couldn't believe that he had successfully snogged Lily Evans and hadn't even earned the usual hexes in the process.

"Mmhmm..." she mumbled. "My mind feels foggy..."

"I didn't know you enjoyed it _that _much, Evans."

The last words which escaped from Lily Evans' mouth were, "...bloody room," (she had to curse _something_) before she dozed off against James' shoulder. The events from the night had exhausted her.

...

Later, it would be _this_ memory she thought of whenever she was required to produce a Patronus...

* * *

**A/n:**

**Just a fluffy one shot I wanted to write while taking "a break" from my other stories. **

**A cookie for your thoughts? **


End file.
